Museums in Naples, Italy: hours, tickets and free Sundays

Naples has more museums than a weekend can hold, and they do not all close on the same day. Here are the hours, prices and closing day for each one, plus the Domenica al Museo, the free Sunday that sometimes lands right in the middle of your trip and is worth knowing about before you buy a ticket.

The split that matters is between the state museums, run by the Ministry of Culture, which open free on the first Sunday of the month, and the private or foundation ones, like the Madre or the Cappella Sansevero, which are always paid. Below you get both groups, one chapter per museum, with how much time each needs and when to go to skip the queue. The map of Naples also shows how close they are to each other.

Domenica al Museo, the free Sunday

On the first Sunday of every month, the state museums in Naples and Campania are free: MANN, Capodimonte, San Martino, Castel Sant'Elmo, Palazzo Reale and Villa Pignatelli in the city, Pompeii, Herculaneum and the Reggia di Caserta outside it. The next one is Sunday 1 November 2026. Outside this group are the Madre, the Cappella Sansevero, the Museo Diocesano and the Tesoro di San Gennaro, which are private or foundation run and always charge, even that day.

MANN, the National Archaeological Museum

At piazza Museo 19, MANN opens every day except Tuesday, from 9am to 7:30pm, with last entry at 6:30pm. A full ticket costs 20 euros, the reduced price for 18 to 25 year olds is 2 euros, and under 18s get in free. Inside you find the Farnese Bull, the mosaics from Pompeii and the Secret Cabinet with the erotic frescoes, which minors can only see with an adult.

Count at least two hours for the main pieces, half a day if you also want to see the Egyptian and epigraphic collections on the second floor at a slower pace. Having just seen the archaeology of Pompeii and Herculaneum in person, this is where a lot of it clicks into place: here is the guided visit with an archaeologist who links the museum pieces to what you saw on site.

Capodimonte, the museum in the woods

Capodimonte is open every day except Wednesday, from 8:30am to 7:30pm, last entry at 6:30pm. A full ticket costs 15 euros, the reduced price for EU citizens aged 18 to 24 is 2 euros, and it is free under 18. It is also free on the first Sunday of the month, on 25 April, 2 June and 4 November.

Inside is the Farnese collection, with Caravaggio's Flagellation and Raphael's Transfiguration, plus the ballroom and the royal apartments. Outside, the Real Bosco is a huge park with paths and clearings: if you have kids who need to run after an hour of paintings, this is where you take them. The woods can be visited without a museum ticket too, with hours that change by season, longer in spring and summer, shorter from November to January.

San Martino and Castel Sant'Elmo, the Vomero from above

The Certosa and Museo di San Martino, at largo San Martino 5 on the Vomero hill, opens every day except Wednesday, from 8:30am to 7:30pm. A full ticket costs 6 euros, the reduced price 2 euros, and it is free on the first Sunday of the month. Inside are the great cloister, the gallery of nativity scenes and the baroque church.

Castel Sant'Elmo has a separate ticket, 5 euros full price and 2.50 euros reduced, and one detail worth knowing beforehand: it closes on Tuesday, not Wednesday like the Certosa right next to it. If you plan both visits on the same day, pick Thursday, Friday, Saturday or Sunday, when both are open. You can walk there from the Certosa in a few minutes, or take the Centrale funicular to piazza Fuga and then walk uphill.

Palazzo Reale and Villa Pignatelli

Palazzo Reale, at piazza del Plebiscito 1, opens every day except Wednesday, from 9am to 8pm, with the ticket office closing an hour earlier. Full price is 15 euros, reduced for 18 to 24 year olds is 2 euros, and free under 18. You visit the historic apartments, the grand staircase and the court theatre: count an hour and a half.

Villa Pignatelli, on the Riviera di Chiaia 200, is run by the same museum but with a separate ticket, 5 euros, open every day except Tuesday from 8:30am to 5pm. It is a 19th century house museum with a garden: on a good day, add half an hour more than you planned. The guided visit to Palazzo Reale pairs it with the Santa Lucia district, a few steps away.

Madre, contemporary art in the Sanità

The Madre, on via Settembrini 79, opens Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 10am to 7:30pm, Sunday from 10am to 8pm, closed Tuesday. Full ticket 8 euros, reduced 4 euros. Not being a state museum, it is not free on the first Sunday, but it often runs family workshops on weekends, listed on madrenapoli.it. It is also the easiest museum to pair with a walk through the Rione Sanità, ten minutes away on foot.

Cappella Sansevero, the Veiled Christ

The Cappella Sansevero, on via Francesco De Sanctis 19, opens every day except Tuesday, from 9am to 7pm, last entry at 6:30pm. Full ticket 10 euros, reduced 7 euros for 10 to 18 year olds and over 65s, free under 10. Entry is only with an online booking and a fixed time slot, set in advance on museosansevero.it: on weekends, long holiday weekends and from Easter to October, the best slots sell out weeks ahead.

The visit takes less than half an hour, but it is worth booking ahead: guaranteed entry in thirty five minutes skips the problem of sold out slots.

The Tesoro di San Gennaro and the Museo Diocesano

The Museo del Tesoro di San Gennaro, on via Duomo 149, is private and opens every day, including holidays, from 9:30am to 6pm, last entry at 5pm. The ticket with audio guide costs 14 euros, reduced 10 euros for over 65s and groups of more than eight people; the Cappella di San Gennaro is visited separately for 3.50 euros, free for anyone born or living in Naples and its province. Inside are the jewels donated to the saint over the centuries, worth more than the English Crown Jewels, Neapolitans say, and it is partly true.

The Museo Diocesano, in the Donnaregina complex at vico Donnaregina 26, opens Monday to Saturday from 9:30am to 4:30pm and Sunday from 9:30am to 2pm, closed Tuesday. Full price 7 euros, reduced 5 euros, family ticket 20 euros. It holds one of the city's least visited sacred art collections, in a quiet cloister a few steps from the Duomo.

Where to buy tickets

For the state museums, MANN, Capodimonte, San Martino, Castel Sant'Elmo, Palazzo Reale and Villa Pignatelli, the online ticket is bought on the museiitaliani.it portal, the same one for all of them. For the private or foundation museums, each has its own site: museosansevero.it for the Veiled Christ, madrenapoli.it for the Madre, the Tesoro di San Gennaro site for the chapel and museum. Buying online does not cost more and, for Sansevero, it is the only way in.

Is the Artecard worth it?

The Campania Artecard comes in different versions: Naples 3 days costs 27 euros and includes three free entries plus public transport in the city for 72 hours; Campania 3 days, 41 euros, and Campania 7 days, 43 euros, add Pompeii, Herculaneum and the Reggia di Caserta, with five entries. The annual versions, like the 365 Lite at 26 euros, give one entry each to 34 sites for a full year. Only the 3 day versions include UnicoCampania transport.

It is worth it if you see at least three museums or archaeological sites in a few days, especially if you add Pompeii or Herculaneum to the count: a Pompeii ticket alone costs almost as much as the whole card. If your weekend has one or two museums, single tickets stay the simplest choice, and often the cheaper one.

With kids

Capodimonte is the easiest with small children: after the galleries you go down into the woods to run around, and entry to the park alone is free. The Madre often runs family workshops on weekends, worth checking on the site before you go. At MANN, the Secret Cabinet, with the erotic frescoes from Pompeii, is not off limits but needs managing: you can only enter with an adult, and some parents prefer to skip it entirely. San Martino is a hit with kids for the miniature nativity scenes in the gallery, and Castel Sant'Elmo for the panoramic walkway on the walls, where they can run without bothering anyone. More ideas for younger kids are in things to do in Naples with children.

When it rains

All these museums work well as a rainy day plan B, except for the Real Bosco at Capodimonte and the walkway at Castel Sant'Elmo, which lose their point without sun. The Madre, MANN and the Cappella Sansevero stay the safest choice on a wet day. More indoor ideas, from underground tunnels to workshops, are in things to do in Naples when it rains.

Frequently asked questions

Which museums are free on the first Sunday of the month?

Only the state ones: MANN, Capodimonte, San Martino, Castel Sant'Elmo, Palazzo Reale and Villa Pignatelli, plus Pompeii, Herculaneum and the Reggia di Caserta outside the city. The Madre, the Cappella Sansevero, the Museo Diocesano and the Tesoro di San Gennaro are private or foundation run and always charge.

How long does it take to visit MANN?

At least two hours for the main pieces, the Farnese Bull, the mosaics and the Secret Cabinet. Half a day if you also want to take your time with the Egyptian and epigraphic collections.

Do you need to book for the Veiled Christ at the Cappella Sansevero?

Yes, always, with a time slot chosen online on the official site. On weekends, long holiday weekends and the months between Easter and October, the best slots sell out weeks ahead.

Is the Artecard worth it for a weekend in Naples?

It depends how many museums you see: with three entries in a few days, especially if you include Pompeii or Herculaneum, the card pays for itself. For one or two museums, single tickets cost less and do not force you to fit visits into a schedule.

With hours and prices in hand, the rest is choosing how many museums fit in a day: two, three at most, leaving time to eat and walk between them. For the rest of the city, the updated list of things to do in Naples is still a good place to start.

Information checked on 22 October 2026.